The Team Canada kids from Little Mountain in the Vancouver area won their opening game today against Panama. It was a great game played in the historic tradition of Little League Baseball. It's easy to be proud of the kids from Little Mountain, they're now 21-0 on their playoff run.The side story of the team's and especially the coaches' superstitions is one of the best parts. The head coach wears different exceptionally weird pants every game, they carry a smelly old sock from place to place and take turns rubbing it on the coach before the game. They also travel with a mangled porclean goose that they bash if things aren't going well for the team [at 21-0 the goose has mostly been lucky so far i'm guessin'].
Best of all though was Team Canada's 3rd base coach. As the uniformly serious and slightly scared kids approached the batters box they'd look up the 3rd baseline to get their signs from the coach stationed there. Each face in its turn was drawn tight with weight of the moment. The coach, an example to us all, would end his series of signs by taking both hands and pulling his mouth into an exagerated smile as a message to the kid to 'lighten up', to enjoy this wonderful moment. It worked perfectly as each kid's face broke into a broad answering smile just as he stepped up to the plate.
Team Canada's next game will be Monday the 23rd at 2pm-et againt the winner between Chinese Taipei and Saudi Arabia later today. The unanswered question among fans at the forum [below] is: Will it be televised? There's been no word yet out of TSN where i watched today's game. But if they don't televise it i suggest the Rogers Sportsnet Regionals oughtta jump in and do it. Why? First off Team Canada's opener today drew more viewers than any of the 3 Blue Jay games from Oakland that were blacked out accross most of Canada this past week. Second, these kids and their coaches are winners no matter where they end up in the tournament and after Rogers idiotic moves with Sportsnet One it'd do them a lotta good to hang with some winners.
CANADA TOPS PANAMA IN OPENER AT LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES
